Love project: Seishun Festival
by camel-3-0-0-9
Summary: Seishun junior high is having a festival and the Seigaku tennis club decided to joined in! What would happen? What would they do? and Who would come pay a visit? bad summary but the story is another 'story!#attacked by many feet. contained Fluff and whatsoever, Included Tefu(confirmed) and some other pairings.
1. prologue

Hello!

this is the second POT fanfic

Feel free to leave a comment _

A/N : POT is not mind I just stole them here becaue I love them so much!

Enjoy

* * *

Prologue

"The play?" Tezuka quirked his brow up, his amber eyes wandered around the tensai's smiling face who happened to be sitting across him, in the student council room, with no one else around.

Just when Hinaya, the vice president, took a step out of the room with his goodbye waving hand at Tezuka who was so engrossed in his own work that didn't know when the resident tensai from tennis club had invited himself in and sat calmly across Tezuka. He blinked when Fuji waved his hand in front of his face, to get him attention, and that's when he knew that he was sat in the room _alone _with Fuji.

Fuji nodded his head. "Yes, what do you think?" he asked smilingly.

"Think what?"

"The club's play, of course." Fuji laughed lightly, his eyes still shut but Tezuka could sense the other boy's blue orbs were observing at him. "Ryuzaki-sensai already gave us a permission to perform a play in the upcoming school festival as did everyone from our club. You are the last one that I have to convince."

"Why am I the last one?" Tezuka frowned. He stopped looking at a pile of paper about the list of many activities each class want to do on the festival day and waiting for him to approve lying in front of him. He took a glanced at the still smiling face and deepened the frown. _So that's why the others kept staring and acting weird around me these few days._

"You are the toughest one." Fuji answered promptly. He strengthened himself so he could see the expression on the Seigaku tennis team captain better. "So..?"

Tezuka glared back "No." He said before diverted his gaze back to the mountain of paper and read them one by one.

"Why?" Tezuka could hear the soft voice asked him, without looking up at his friend, he explained briefly, "We already retired from the club and everyone has their own class's activity on that day besides, even there's a festival coming, the club still needs to practice for the prefectural."

"But I asked Kaidoh and he said yes." Fuji, still not giving up on his thought, mentioned the name of the new captain of tennis club to, maybe, can convince Tezuka more or less. "He also said that he would consider on letting the practice end early for the sake of the play."

He still remembered how he had to threaten the bandana boy to say 'Yes' with the help from the data player. Kaidoh was just too cute to tease, well, aside from the stoic boy in front of him, he mused.

Tezuka sighed tiredly. His voice started to sound irritate. "The festival will be in a week, Fuji."

"And?"

"We don't have time to rehears the play." He gritted his teeth trying hard to sound passive.

Fuji blinked then broadened his smile. "Oh, so you just worry about the time?"

Tezuka took a deep breath. Dealing with Fuji was always not an easy task, not even when he so stubborn like this.

"Not just that." Tezuka looked up to see Fuji brightly stared back at him like a boy expected presents from his dad on Christmas's day. He fought the urge to give in to the boy in front of him and asked what's in his mind instead.

"Why do you so persistent in doing this." Tezuka's eyes searched through the now opened cerulean ones. Fuji kept quiet first, as if he was trying to find the proper word, before smile broke up on his clear face.

"I just want us to have a good memory together." He smiled sincerely. "Who would know when we will have a chance to see each other again." Blue eyes looked out of the window wistfully. Fuji turned his gaze toward his captain. "Especially you. You are going to Germany, aren't you?"

He found himself nod at the question Fuji has asked him. He had never thought that Fuji would be thinking something so emotional seeing the tensai always went on teasing everyone with wasabi sushi and running after their friends with Inui juice in hand like that. Tezuka almost agreed when suddenly he asked curiously, "What about the roles and the props? We can't afford to do that in a week, can we?"

Fuji smiled "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Inui already started writing the script maybe it will be finished by tomorrow and he will give us a suitable role after that." Feeling Tezuka's gaze softened, he continued. "As for the props everyone will help make them together. Eiji already ran out with Oishi to buy some necessary tools since yesterday, you know?"

Tezuka heaved a sigh, his back leaned against the chair. "Why do you have to ask for my permission if you've already done everything?"

Fuji chuckled, said in soft tone of his melodic voice, "Because I know that you will allow us to do crazy thing like this, that's why I'm so confident in convincing you."

"So…?" Fuji beamed.

Tezuka sighed for the umpteenth time. He looked at the tensai and finally, gave in knowing too well that he couldn't say 'No' to this boy even once.

After the long silence, he muttered, an "Ahh." Didn't need to look up, he already knew how wide the smile on Fuji's face went. He knew that all but his eyes betrayed him and stared at the brunet.

He didn't know whether his eyes deceived him or not that Fuji's smile seemed so different, so foreign but beautiful in its own way. With blue eyes opened widely, he couldn't find any word to muster the stunning view in front of him at all.

When he heard "Thank you" from that smiling lips, he knew that he had made the right decision, to let the tensai make a fuss last time in his junior high school life.

Unconsciously, he let himself smile as well.

* * *

TBC.


	2. Chapter 1 : The beginning

Thank you for the comments! _

and i've just renamed the title ._. but the story's still the same so don't worry!

here the next chapter right below!

A/N : POT is not mine, I just stole them here

* * *

Chapter 1

5 days left before the festival day.

**The beginning**

_Or maybe the very wrong decision _Tezuka thought wryly when the scene in front of him appeared before his very own eyes.

Disaster was an underestimated word if he even cared to put it in. He looked at the tennis court filled with many colorful papers, a huge white board, paint brushes and paint buckets lying around that he couldn't see its ground any more.

He felt a light touch on his shoulder, Inui greeted him with a handful of paper stacks, behind him were the other regulars. Kikumaru hopped up and down with excitement shown openly on his face. Momoshiro and Kaidoh were bickering non-stop with Oishi trying to stop both of them. Kawamura stood beside Echizen who calmly sipped his favorite ponta.

Tezuka narrowed his eyes _Where's Fuji?_

"You came early, Tezuka." Oishi smiled at him.

Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement. "Where's Fuji?" he asked curiously.

Kikumaru showed up behind Oishi, he said happily, "Fujiko went to drama club! He said he would come here as fast as possible, nya!"

Inui explained more when he saw a confused look on the stoic captain's face. "I asked him if he could ask the drama club lend us some costumes, you know how good he can convince people right?"

Tezuka only gave the data player a curt nod. He know _too _well how the tensai could persuade someone to do anything as he wanted so easily, with his bright smile, his price-like personality (except for the sadist side) and his soft melodic voice, no one could say 'no' to that, included Tezuka himself.

Momoshiro eyed the pile of paper in Inui's arm warily. "Are that the script, Inui-senpai?"

Inui's glasses flashed reflecting the somehow shivered Momoshiro on his translucent glasses, he answered "Ahh, I and Fuji just finished it last night. It's our masterpiece." He smirked.

The regulars felt so cold at the picture of Inui and Fuji worked on the script together. They somewhat didn't want to know the content of the script anymore, they want to resign themselves out of the play even if it was too late to do that now.

They heard someone's footstep came to their direction, all heads turned to find Fuji slowly jogging toward them. When Fuji reached where they were standing, without asking he smiled and raised his thumb up.

"Drama club said they will lend us the costumes." He turned his head to Tezuka, smiled apologetically "Sorry I'm late."

"It's all right."

Inui held what in his arm tightly before walked into the clubroom with everyone followed quietly after him. When the last person passed and shut the door, all eyes simultaneously looked at Inui.

He looked at Fuji who smiled back in return before gave each of them a folder. Waiting patiently for their reactions.

Silence came, the one who seemed to successfully gather his thoughts first was the snake shot player.

Kaidoh's eyes gawked. "Wha…what is this, Inui-senpai!"

If Kaidoh's voice was high, Momoshiro's was way level higher than the bandana boy 2 times. "What's the story is this!?" He shrieked not so manly.

Tezuka stared blankly at the title of the story. "Fuji" he called through gritted teeth "Mind to explain this."

Fuji who enjoyed the view very much feigned surprise, he answered with question, "Eh, didn't you guys see the title?"

Counting to 10, Tezuka's grip around the script tightened "I do." He answered nonetheless.

Fuji smiled vividly, "So, what's the matter?"

"The matter is here Fuji-senpai!" Momoshiro wailed with his loud voice. Fuji felt pity he didn't have the camera with him today. "THIS!" the spiky haired boy pointed at the title.

Inui tilted his head, he rubbed his chin bemusedly. "What's wrong with _Sleeping Beauty_?"

"It's sure _wrong _Inui-senpai!" Momoshiro huffed "Why do we do the _Sleeping Beauty_! We can do something else but why THIS!"

Fuji answered with his usual smile instead, "Why can't we? I think it would be interesting doing something different once in a while."

Momoshiro still not giving in, he whined desperately "But…why am I put in the Prince role? And Mamushi as a _Princess!?_"

"Like I love to be a Princess!" Kaidoh hissed.

"And what part of your brain think I want to be a Prince!?" Momoshirp yelled back.

"Maybe that stupid part of yours!"

"Are you wanna fight!?"

"Stop both of you." Oishi pushed his kouhai apart. Really, he felt like a babysitter. The difference was he didn't take care of the toddlers but the 14 years old boys.

When they calmed their minds down, the data player spoke up.

Inui pushed up his glasses, "Why? I think the roles suit you perfectly."

"What make you think like that!?" Two juniors protested in unison before turned their gazes glaring at each other fiercely.

"I WON'T PLAY THE PRINCE/PRINCESS IF YOU ARE A PRINCE/PRINCESS!" Both said simultaneously.

Oishi looked at both of them in surprise. "Wow, you both know each other too well, eh?"

Their shoulders slummed "Don't say something like that, Oishi-senpai."

Echizen smirked. He didn't have any problem with the play as long as he himself didn't have to dress like a girl, just thought about last time he visited Rikkai with his black haired senpai and was forced to wear a pinkish fluffy dress and almost kissed by that fukubuchou of Rikkai made he felt sick already.

Inui noted something down his green notebook. "With Momoshiro's personalities as a true man who do anything with pride and not let himself back down so easily and Kaidoh who has a soft spot on animals and like Momo, you always give your all. I think you both fit the roles undeniably."

"If you talk about that kind of stuff, didn't Tezuka buchou and Fuji-senpai suit the characters better?" Kaidoh hissed and he truly meant it. After watching his respectful senpais for more than two years, Kaidoh always respected the captain who always did everything for the team's sake even let himself got his arm severely injured, he continued on and led the team to seize the victory. As for Fuji-senpai, he knew all along that behind his smile mask and sadistic act, he, also, sincerely cared much about his teammates. He put and did everything for their team as well. But right now even he felt so great that they both, no, his every senpai were with him, He didn't want to be dressed and what's more, as a princess! He still had one year before graduate unlike his senpais, he won't let himself be laughed at so easily.

Fuji just smiled softly. "I think so too but you know, Tezuka and I also have the more suitable roles as well."

Kikumaru glomped the only freshman in the room pretending not to hear a loud protest from his O chibi, he waved the script happily. "Yeah, the King and the evil roles suit them better!" he said jokingly earned a glare from Tezuka and a chuckle from Fuji.

Finding no way to retort anymore, they just hung their heads in the air. The dark clouds formed above their heads and poured the invisible rain on them as if to mock them and made them felt like a dead fish more than they already did.

Kawamura and Oishi rubbed their shoulders soothingly.

"So…now that everyone has no objections against this anymore, we will start.." Inui was cut off by a loud bam of the clubroom's door flew open and hit the wall, almost knocked Kawamura to the ground if he didn't have a good sense to dot in time.

The girl who caused that sound panting softly. Her waist-length dark brown hair swayed a little. Her light brown eyes scanned the room thoroughly when she found her target, she moved her slender figure toward him. Her clear and delicate face looked stunningly beautiful. When her glossing lips parted, her bell-like voice rang through the room.

"Syusuke" She spoke up to the smiling boy in front of her. She reached out her hand and tugged lightly at the tensai's sleeve. "You don't forget our promise, do you?"

Fuji shrugged the others' confused and jealous gazes that sent to him off, he smiled softly at her.

"Haruka." Fuji nodded at her.

Up on hearing her name, Otsuki Haruka smiled happily at Fuji. "Well, because you are late, I come to pick you up." She then glanced at the others in the room looking apologetic, "Sorry, did I interrupt you?"

Tezuka was about to say something when the loud Momoshiro beated him at that

"No, no. Not at all!" the purple eyed boy said nervously, his face heated up and looked as red as tomato.

"Actually, yes" Inui who didn't get any influence from the aura emerging from a beauty girl stepped forward. His glasses flashed. "We were about to start rehearsing the play."

Haruka looked surprised. She turned her head back at the tensai, "I thought you are free today."

"I thought so too." He rubbed his head, "But it seems the schedule is changed. Maybe next time?" he pleaded hopefully.

Haruka chuckled at Fuji's action that reminded her of some cute children wanting his mom to buy a dog for him. She patted the tensai's shoulder. Still chuckling, she said adorningly, "Like I can say no to you." She paused, her lips formed a little pout looking like a cute petite doll sitting peacefully on the bed. "Well, tomorrow?" she asked, winking.

Fuji smiled at her "Sure." Then he turned to Tezuka who kept his mouth shut all the time with his arms folded against his chest. The light shade brunet looked warily, he said "Tezuka, I will escort her to the school gate and I'll be coming back."

Tezuka felt his heart twitched but if he felt like a knife just cut through his chest leaving the ache inside him, he didn't say or show it. "Ahh." He answered softly, looked away from tensai.

Fuji frowned, wondered what he made Tezuka diverted his gaze from him, it wasn't like Tezuka'd never done this before but somehow, this time was different. Fuji stared at him for a while before brushed it off and went out the clubroom with Haruka _He would ask him letter. _

When the door was shut, the loud noise from who-knows-who yelled.

"Who's that girl!?" Momoshiro asked excitedly. He pointed his finger at the door and wagged it up and down like he just saw the real Aliens. "She's so cute!"

"Do you know her, Eiji?" Oishi asked his partner with curiosity shown in his eyes, his cheeks tinted a soft pink color.

Kikumaru scratched his cheek lightly. "Well, her name is Otsuki Haruka, she is in same class as me and Fuji. She's also in drama club and they are very close friends aside from me of course!" he beamed.

Tezuka frowned. _How come he didn't know her at all?_

"And that's when I thought why the drama club let us borrow their costumes that easily. Ii data" Inui jotted down his notebook.

"She's cute, ne." Kawamura said sheepishly.

Kaidoh blushed.

"Ne, Eiji-senpai" Echizen called the redhead. "Are they together?"

Tezuka unconsciously dropped the script he had held. He cursed himself under his breath for letting his guard down and kneeled down to picked the paper that seemed to be heavier than before. He averted his gazes to one side of the room from the stares his friends sent him.

Kikumaru diverted his gaze from Tezuka. Putting his hand under his chin, he spoke thoughtfully, "Hmm, I think they're not. They act and talk normally at each other and I think they both already have someone on their minds."

Tezuka breathed out in relief. He didn't even know that he had held his breath before. But instantly he frowned again. _Fuji has someone he likes? _Not that he minds but…something just doesn't feel right for him and he doesn't even know why he feels like that in the first place_. _

Kaidoh looked puzzled, "Fuji-senpai has someone he likes?"

Kikumaru nodded his head hard. "Uh! I can feel it!" he said proudly.

Inui pushed his glassed up his nose. He flipped through pages of his dark green notebook and stopped at one page.

"Hmn, it seems that after the Nationals ended, Fuji seemed to be distracted and didn't focus on anything at all. His smiles look surreal and he always looked at the sky and muttered something that I can't understand as well."

"Ah, talk about that, Fuji was really acting different these days." Oishi said worriedly, "Yesterday I tried to call him but he seemed so deep in thought that he didn't know that I was calling him."

"Did something happen to Fuji?" Kawamura murmured with concern.

"Or someone." Momoshiro added, "You said Fuji-senpai might have someone he likes right, Eiji-senpai, So it might be that he had some problems with that person; like he didn't know how to act or talk to get them closer."

Kikumaru blinked at his junior, "Wow, Momo you are so deep, nya!"

"Do you know anything about that, buchou?" Echizen craned his head up to meet Tezuka.

Tezuka flinched but not much. He narrowed his eyes at the next pillar of Seigaku. "Why did you ask me?"

Echizen shrugged diverting his gaze out of the window. "Well, because you are _always_ with Fuji-senpai so I thought maybe you would know something about that."

"Yeah, do you know anything Tezuka?" Kikumaru asked. He wanted to know whom that the tensai Fuji was falling for and it wasn't his false at all that he wanted to know so badly. Fuji was barely talking about his business as well as avoiding it. Unlike Kikumaru whose mouth always kept talking non-stop about everything that passed him that day; his family, his sister stole his favorite toothpaste _again _and how he woke up in the morning and found his sister gave it back to him. Fuji just smiled and gave him a nod. He also talked about Oishi as well.

"…I don't know anything." Tezuka mumbled.

"Just a little?" Oishi pried.

Tezuka shook his head. He didn't have any idea about it at all. True, he and Fuji seemed to be together all the time after their win at Nationals. They often walked home together every day but it was only because he was always engrossed in the student council paper until the sky turned orange and he would find the tensai stood absentmindedly at the gate with he also cooped himself in the photography club that he didn't know how late it had been.

He admitted that he enjoyed the small talk and silence that enveloping them along each of their footstep, sometimes he and Fuji would visit the book store or the ice-cream parlor during their way just sitting in the park enjoyed each other company making him feel calm and can let his wall melt like an ice scream in his hand. If he was with Fuji, he thought he could feel, at least, _saved._

The sound of the door creaked open attracted everyone's gazes and brought Tezuka back from his reverie. Fuji's head appeared behind the door with his apologetic smile painted on his face.

"Sorry, it took so long."

"Why it took so long, nya?" Kikumaru glomped his best friend. "Didn't you just walk her to the gate?"

"At first, yes. But it looks like she lost her purse so we ended up searching for that." He explained with his usual smile, "Fortunately, we found it in her desk before the janitor locked the door. It's surprised that he didn't come and lock the door yet."

"Talk about time, what time is it now?" Oishi asked. They seemed to be in this clubroom for almost 3 hours already.

Inui looked down at his wrist watch. "It's 7:45."

Momoshiro quirked his brow up. "Eh, that late?"

Kawamura looked uncomfortable. "I have to go now, my dad wants me to buy some groceries. Sorry, minna."

"I have to go too before the old man scolds me." Echizen grumbled.

Thought it was his false, Fuji bowed his head down a little bit, his blue eyes filled with guilt.

"I'm so sorry. I have kept you waiting only for me."

Kikumaru waved his hand hastily. Oishi smiled at him assuredly. "It's OK Fuji, don't blame yourself."

"I was almost to tell that today's rehearsal would be cancelled as well." Inui shut his notebook smiling at Fuji. "So don't worry about it."

"Fshussssss."

"You heard them." The emotionless tone got Fuji's attention. He tilted his head and met Tezuka giving a millimeter smile at him. "Don't think of it too much."

Smiling widely and genuinely at his captain, he straightened himself up and said, "Thank you, I will make it up tomorrow."

"Eh? But you don't have to go with Otsuki-san?" Kikumaru asked innocently. Tezuka felt his heart ached a little at the mention of that girl's name.

Fuji shook his head. "I will meet her at noon instead so it's OK."

"Are you going to have lunch together?" Momoshiro asked excitedly.

The blue eyed boy gave a nod. "Ah. It seems so."

"You are so lucky, Fuji-senpai." The dunk smash player feigned jealousy. Before turning his head to the petite boy beside him. "Oi, Echizen I will bike you home. Let's go."

"Usu." Echizen pulled his cap before existed the door with Momoshiro.

* * *

One by one left the clubroom, Fuji leaned against the wall waiting for Tezuka to lock the door. When Tezuka came up to him, Fuji just smiled. "Shall we?"

They walked in silence and didn't mind it at all instead they felt comfortable in the cold air of the night. Step by step, Tezuka stole a glance at the sight of tensai beside him. His honey brown hair swayed as his lithe body moved, his pink lips curved up and his eyes still shut formed and downward arc. The ray of the moon brighten Fuji's face like angel descended down the Earth. _He looked beautiful_. Tezuka mused. Absentmindedly reaching out a hand and resting on Fuji's hair.

Fuji halted in his track. Craned his head toward Tezuka whose hand still resting firmly on top of his head, he called, "Tezuka?"

Back to the reality, Tezuka hurriedly took his hand off Fuji's brown tresses like he was just touching the burnt object. He cursed himself under his breath trying to look as passive as possible, he muttered a "Sorry."

Fuji gave him a flown. Reaching out his hand to caress the other boy's face, he asked warily, "Tezuka, are you sick? Your face is red…"

Tezuka froze. "I'm Ok." _Please take out your hand, quick._

The brunet still didn't believe his captain, his flown deepened but took his hand out anyway, to Tezuka's relief.

"You're sure you didn't catch a cold?" Fuji asked worriedly. Tezuka gave him a curt nod and walked ahead. Fuji quickened his paces so he could walk side by side with Tezuka again.

The rest of their walk gave in the silence. Fuji was looking so deep in thought and Tezuka had no intention to break the muteness either. There half way left when Tezuka, to Fuji's surprise, spoke up first.

He looked uncertain, his eyes glued at the path before them. "Do you have someone you like?"

Tezuka wanted to slap himself hard when his words registered in his brain. _Why did I ask something like_ _that? Now it seems like I am a girl who is about to confess her love to her love interest. _If he wanted to bite his tongue so bad, he just kept his mouth shut and pretended that he didn't feel anything like the unsteady feelings twirling inside his stomach.

Fuji blinked once, twice. Then he bursted out laughing much to earn the skeptical look on Tezuka's face.

"What's so funny." The dark brown haired boy muttered. Embarrassing, he could feel the heat creeping on his cheeks, wishing that the dark of the night could blind it from the still laughing tensai more or less.

Fuji tried hard to stifle his laugh. "Sorry..I" He mumbled between the laugh that he couldn't keep it in anymore. "I just didn't think that someone like you would talk about those kinds of things."

Tezuka snapped _What's the matter of talking about these things? He was still a human, wasn't he?_

Seeing his friend looked so frustrated. He chuckled and put his finger between the other boy's brows. Slowly moved up and down, he said, "Where does this thought come from?"

Tesuka shut his eyes, succumbed by the comfortable touch from Fuji. "I just heard it from Kikumaru." He murmured softly

"From Eiji?"

"Ahh."

"I wonder how he knew it…"

"Hmn."

"You like it, don't you?" Fuji teased. His finger moved in circle before silently took it off and put his hand back in his pocket.

Tezuka wanted to protest, he liked Fuji's touch and liked how he could make him feel better every time they were together. His train of thought was cut with the smaller boy's voice though.

"Back to business." Fuji sounded serious, Tezuka could feel it. "Yes, I have. What do you think?"

_Hurt _"…With Otsuki-san?" he asked, unsured.

Fuji kept silence, the taller boy could hear his heart bouncing against his ribcage so hard that he scared it could have pierced through his chest.

After Tezuka felt like years had passes, Fuji Spoke up.

"…No." He answered honestly, looked at the bespectacled friend. Smiling "Is that all you want?"

Tezuka found himself nodded and they started walking again.

When they reached the intersection, Fuji turned on his heel, facing Tezuka, he gave him a small smile. "You know Tezuka, if you want to know something just ask me for it, OK? There's sometimes even I can't read your unspoken words." He patted the other boy's chest. "So, just ask and I will answer you."

Tezuka looked at Fuji's retrieved back. He didn't understand his own feelings yet; like why he felt so depressed when Fuji said he had someone he liked and his moods immediately lifted up when he knew that Otsuki wasn't the one who possessed the tensai's heart. But then, who was it?

Tezuka shrugged, he would find it out letter. Maybe just _maybe _when he found out the answer of that difficult question, he could, perhaps, find the correct answer to his heart as well.

* * *

And that's chapter 1 for you.

What do you think? Good? Bad?

Please feel free to comment and i've almost done with the next chapter so it won't take long!

thank you and see ya in next chapter! ^O^V

TBC.


	3. Chapter 2 : The script and the rehearsal

I'm VERY very very sorry for the long absence

My laptop is gone crazy and my hellish exams just ended

here ch 2 :))

A/N : POT isn't belong to me I just own my characters

bad grammar and a lot of errors

ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

4 days left before the festival day

The script and the rehearsal

It was Sunday and was only 10 in the morning. Normally this time, Tezuka would practically be in his house helping his mother do the housework and drinking some cups of tea with his grandfather, talking about next fishing trip, but today was different for him to go to school and went straight to the court where the other regulars were.

Well, _most _of them were.

Gathered around the court there were Kaidoh, Momoshiro, Fuji, Kikumaru, Inui and Oishi who was talking tensely to someone via his phone right now. And those 'someone's, in Tezuka's thought, must be the missing first year and the powerful third year player.

Inui tapped his finger on the watch's dial thoughtfully, his brows knitted. He jerked his head up and nodded at Tezuka who was standing beside him.

"Where are Echizen and Kawamura?"

As if answered his question, Oishi turned his head toward the rest. His face was full of anxiety.

"I just called those two. Taka-san can't make it today because he has to help his dad handle the restaurant."

"What about Echizen?"

"Knowing him, maybe he is helping some pregnant women cross the road right now." Momoshiro smirked.

Oishi blinked, "How did you know, Momo? I was just about to say that!"

Everyone excluded Tezuka sweatdropped.

"Well, he should be here in about 15 minutes." Inui murmured. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "At least we can use this time scan through the script and can start rehearsing right after Echizen comes."

"And Taka-san?"

"Don't worry about that, I will go and give him the script after we're done rehearse."

The rest of the regulars nodded. They looked at the script in their hands and started reading it peacefully and thoughtfully. Tezuka almost dropped the stack of paper when the scream rang through his ears.

"It's Momo." Fuji smiled, answered his unspoken question.

There Momoshiro with his eyes bulged out of the sockets and his jaw hung open like a fish nearly died because of the lack of water.

"WHAT IS THESE SAPPY SENTENCES INUI-SENPAI!"

"Hmn? Where?"

"HERE!"

"Ahh, it's not me who wrote it. It's Fuji."Inui answered after seeing what those words were.

Momoshiro abruptly looked at the smiling tensai.

"What?" Fuji asked smiling.

"Not what, Fuji-senpai…" the raven haired boy replied weakly. "Why do I have to say THESE SCARY SENTENCES!?"

"They are not scary sentences, Momo. Besides, isn't it normal to say those words in the romantic story?"

"…it's normal but…"

"So what wrong with that?" the genius tilted his head innocently. "You should take Kaidoh as an example. He doesn't complain about them at all."

Momoshiro glanced at the said boy who seemed to lose his consciousness since he had read the first syllable on the script and—for the first time in his life—felt pity for the snake shot player.

"Choose, Momo." Inui butted in. His hand held the pitcher of unidentified floating substance and shoved it under Momoshiro's nose. "Do or drink."

Momoshiro did not even dare to move. He froze at his spot before desperately nodded. He let out a sigh when that dangerous drink was moved out of his face.

Echizen entered the court the moment after, he looked terrible with a dark ring under his eyes and his dark green hair was messy under his cap.

"You're late Ochibi!" Kikumaru rushed and glomped his small first year who seemed so quiet and not even told his acrobatic senpai to let go instead, he just stood still and yawned.

"Ochibi?"

"My, it seemed he barely had a good sleep last night." Fuji predicted.

"Eh, are you all right?" Oishi asked with worry shown openly in his voice.

Echizen rubbed his eyes and, for Kikumaru's surprise, leaned over the readhead. "Yeah, the old man dragged me out of my bed last night and forced me to accompany him to buy oden just because he felt hungry. That jerk old man…"

"So that's why you are late. I thought you were helping pregnant women to cross the road." Momshiro teased.

Echizen ignored him.

Inui crapped his hands together brought everyone's attention.

"Now that Echizen has come, we will start practice and whoever I call, go to the center of the court. The rest of you go stand at the side line."

Kikumaru whispered into Fuji's ear. "He looks like he enjoys it, don't you think?"

Fuji smiled a little. "Saa."

"First," Inui flipped through his notebook looking as if he was considering the most delicious dish on the menu.

"Oishi and Tezuka."

Said persons walked toward the center of the court holding their script in hand and facing each other.

"Now we will do the first part of the play where the king talks to his dear queen about having their first child. Relax and start whenever you two are ready."

Oishi breathed in, his hand shaking a little.

"Relax Oishi." Tezuka said with concern. It didn't like they will go on stage today, did it? Why Oishi looked so nervous just because the rehearsal, he didn't know.

"Ah, ahh."

"Ok, take#1 start!"

Suddenly, Tezuka felt his hands were seized and were being pulled at the other boy's chest. His amber eyes rounded with abrupt surprise behind the rimless glasses when he saw the sparkle twinkling on those dark orbs of his best friend.

"_My dear king._" Tezuka stiffed at the sweet voice he had never known Oishi could even utter. "_It has been a long time since we got married. It is about a time to have our own child now, don't you think?_"

"Wow…" Momoshiro's jaw dropped to the ground. He found a new respect for his vice captain. "Suge, Oishi-senpai."

"That's my partner! Nya!" Kikumaru said proudly.

Tezuka seemed he was at a loss. His eyes were blank as well as his brain that seemed to stop working for a moment.

_Remind me why I'm doing this again… _Tezuka sighed inwardly.

He remained silent for a minute or two when he caught sight of the tensai smiled widely at him and Inui moved his mouth formed a silent 'reply him'

The taller man looked down at the so-in-character Oishi, _he had no choice but doing this right?_

"_My love_" he said with an expressionless voice. "_I could not say anything but yes to you, you do know that I was—and still am—falling hard for you that I can't utter any word that would make you regret, can I?_"

"Be more affectionate to your queen, Tezuka." Fuji shouted amusedly from the side line.

"Tezuka, at this you should put your hand on Oishi's waist and pulled him closer to you and do as Fuji said, be more affectionate." Inui added.

Tezuka was hesitated and his eyes didn't look so pleased at all.

He did what Inui told him any way. He wanted this to end as fast as possible.

But before he did that, Oishi yanked him down by grabbing his shoulders, pulled him close to see the overwhelmed happiness shown all over his friend's face.

And that when he thought he knew Oichi the best, aside from Kikumaru, he was wrong. _Strongly wrong_.

"_I…_" Oishi put all his emotions into words. His eyes were gleaming with joyful tears running down his face and his mouth trembling with utmost happiness. "_Did you really mean it?_"

Tezuka couldn't move an inch when Oishi moved closer and closer to him.

"Kiss your queen!" Kikumaru yelled with excitement and couldn't stop bouncing over the freshman.

"Stop it Kikumaru-senpai! I want to see those two."

"You are underage, Echizen." Momoshiro teased. Put his hand on his kouhai's eyes.

"You are only one year older than me."

Kaidoh turned to the other side. Face was as red as tomato.

"Tezuka, do it quick so we can move on the next scene." Inui hurried them.

The captain clenched his fists. His face was just about centimeters far from Oishi's and it's no joke at all seeing Oishi really meant to do, _to kiss, _him in front of the rest of their team—not that he would please doing this even in private place though—he tried hard to let Oishi go as polite as he could do but he couldn't move even one step. _Where did Oishi gain so much power and at a time like this!? _He groaned hopelessly.

To Tezuka's relief, someone's phone was ringing, interrupted the so-close-kiss scene in front of their very eyes. Fuji smiled apologetically at his friends before pressing the green button and placed the phone near his ears.

"Ah, Haruka."

Tezuka's eyes suddenly looked at the tensai sharply.

"Where are you? Oh sorry, I thought I lost track of time…yes…yes, see you." Fuji put his phone in his pocket again.

Kikumaru smiled cunningly at his friend. "Isn't that Otsuki-san?"

Fuji nodded.

"Yes, it is."

"Why did she call you?" Oishi, stepped out of his actor zone, asked with curiosity.

Never did Tezuka think that he would be paying all his concentration just waiting for the next word that will be sung out of the prodigy's mouth.

"I have to meet her at noon remember? She just called me because she didn't see me."

Inui looked at his watch. "Ahh, it's already 12:35. We should take a break and be back again at 1:30 as well."

"Eh, she also comes to school on Sunday too?" Oishi asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, her drama club has a rehearsal today like us, but they rehearse in the hall."

"Ne, Fujiko." The redhead called his friend when Fuji walked himself to the fence door. "Why don't you take her here? She can help us with rehearsal. She's from the drama club after all!"

_Oh no. please don't. _Tezuka shot a look at Fuji. His heart thundered loudly inside his chest but no words came out.

Fuji smiled "I'll ask her."

"Be here on time Fuji. The next scene will start with you."

"Hai." With that, he disappeared into the school building.

Tezuka stared unconsciously at where Fuji had been. Only when Oishi called him—twice-did he turn his eyes back and started eating his own lunch. Although his body was there sitting with Oishi and Echizen sat beside him, eating and talking casually, with Kikumaru stole Momoshiro's food caused the latter to protested loudly and ran after the acrobatic player around the court, and Kaidoh who was paled and almost fainted by the smell of Inui's juice that was shoved at him directly with the grinning Inui holding it in front of him, his mind was clouded with an unknown feelings that were the same as the yesterday when he saw that girl clinging to the brunet and the latter didn't even waste his time to shrug her of at all. Tezuka's grip on his chopsticks tightened. He _hates that feeling. _It was like all of his inner parts were burnt; like he was laid near the sun. He _couldn't _breathe and felt his body all sweated as if he had just run thousand laps in the middle of summer.

His train of thought was cut when the sight of someone came in his dim view.

Fuji came back. Tezuka could felt his breath's rhythm steadier and his grip was loosened whenever he saw the smaller boy. The tensai's smile seemed to make him feel at ease and feel like a cloud floating in the air. He let his lips quirk up a bit.

The blue eyed boy approached them slowly. Tezuka noticed that Fuji didn't come back _alone_, he spotted another silhouette walking side by side with the tensai as well.

There shewas, talking closely at Fuji. He even laughed with her and somehow, it made Tezuka's mood drop drastically.

They entered the court together. Otsuki bowed before them and smiled brightly to no one in particular.

"Syusuke said you want my help with the rehearsal." She smiled

Momoshiro stepped forward the others. "Yes. YES! It would be our pleasure to have you as a monitor after all."

"You are exaggerating." The dark brow haired girl laughed at that. "Well, I will try my best then."

"You're the one who are exaggerating." Fuji teased ruffling her hair. "You are the director of the drama club, aren't you."

Otsuki pushed Fuji's hand away, pouted. "To be a director doesn't mean you are so good at it and STOP messing my hair! Geez, I spent a lot of my energy just for setting my hair."

"Maybe you should just let it be." Fuji told her with the matter-of-fact tone. "Who knows, you maybe look better with afro hair style."

"Syusuke!"

"Joking."

Everyone at the court stared at the two dumbfoundedly. Somehow it made they already think that Fuji and Haruka might be something beyond their guess.

Kikumaru blinked. "I've never thought you two are so close like this…"

Inui coughed. "Well, let's start again, shall we? We don't have any time to waste right now." The data player looked at the tensai. "Fuji, go to the center and Otsuki-san please make yourself comfortable and feel free to watch and don't hold yourself from commenting."

Otsuki smiled at him. "Don't worry about that. I'm the strict director after all."

"Alright, Take#9 start!"

The sound of evil laughter suddenly echoed through the court that made everyone stutter. All eyes turned to the source of that voice to see Fuji, with his opened blue eyes looked piercingly at the sky and his back hand around his mouth, continued the laughter but lowered the level of that high pitch noise to the very low one that sounded so creepy to their ears.

Oishi sweatdropped. He laughed weakly. "He sounded like a real evil."

"Because he is…" Echizen whispered.

Fuji then shot them a look that sent the chill up their spines. He smiled devilishly as his lips parted and uttered the words with the sickening, sweet voice.

"_Well well, look like you are all having a party here._" Fuji traced his voice with mocking tone. "_And I, Maleficent, am the one who was left out from this joyful event. Such a pity of me._"

Kikumaru's jaw dropped a little. He eyed his best friend with surprising look sparkled on his eyes. "As expected from Fuji."

"So, it seems he's a prodigy at acting as well? Ii data." Inui wrote down his notebook.

Tezuka, on the other hand, didn't feel like he was surprised by the smooth acting—saved for the creepy laughter earlier—that was being shown by the tensai at all. It's just like Fuji to do things like this. With his potential as a genius that Tezuka long knew that this bottomless ability wasn't only saved for tennis, but also for something else, like photography. The bespectacled man smiled a little. He remembered one time he went to Fuji's house for studying together and the brunet showed him pies of photo albums including the pictures of his siblings, his friends and the tennis club. Tezuka wondered how he managed to take those pictures even he was, at the same time, practicing hard with everyone. And then Fuji picked one photo and showed to him; it was a photo with them—the regulars and Ryuzaki-sensai—holding a cup together at the Nationals tennis tournament with a big smile on everyone's faces. It was taken with a good balance, angle, everything just looked perfect in that photo with everyone smiling from the bottom of their hearts like that. Fuji said he would copy it to everyone once he had a time and Tezuka nodded at that. He would love to have one for himself as well since he had to go to Germany and he had to admit, he would _miss _his teammates as much as he didn't know himself could feel something like this for someone he called friends.

_Germany… _Tezuka mused, his heart swayed a little. It's his dream to become a pro in sport he loved so much but then _again. _His amber orbs filled with unknown emotions when he gazed at the tensai at the center of the court _Even he wants to go as soon as possible… _his eyes softened _He doesn't want to go and stay with friends forever._

The giggles beside him pulled Tezuka out from the ocean of thought. He looked down to see Otsuki smiled proudly at the person he had just stared at. Tezuka contorted his brows.

"It's just like Syusuke." She looked up and smiled at the man beside her. "Don't you think so?"

Tezuka raised a brow at her, puzzled. "Yeah." He found his voice answered softly and diverted his gaze at Fuji again.

At that, Inui crapped his hands together. "Good job, Fuji. Now, Momoshiro and Kaidoh come out."

Tezuka looked at the boy who walked toward him, his ears shut the sound of shriek that came out from the two said persons out of his auditory nerve. Fuji gave him a small smile as he stopped in front of him.

"How was my acting? Good? Bad?"

Tezuka was about to answer when someone initiatively cut him off.

"You did a great job!" Otsuki gave him a thumb up. She then sighed audibly. "If you just entered our club instead of playing tennis…" she muttered to herself, loud enough to gained both Tezuka's and Fuji's attention.

The tensai just smiled but tezuka frowned deeply that one could see the line formed on his forehead.

Otsuki chuckled lightly waving her hand playfully "Well, I was just kidding." She looked over at the two sophomores at the center of the court then sweat dropped at the unseeing sight of the _Prince_ and _Princess_ who were taking each other by the collar of their shirts. "Uh, it seems my job starts now, excuse me." She walked furiously toward the bickering kouhais where Oishi was already there, tried hard to stop them. "Geez, YOU TWO! Please have respect for the play you are about to perform!"

Tezuka looked at the girl in disbelief. Fuji chuckled.

"Haruka is showing her true self now." Fuji looked at the said girl who was busily scolding Momoshiro and Kaidoh whose bodies sat upright on the ground, lowered their heads in fear. "She's always like this when it comes to something she loves."

"Ahh."

And then, they stayed quiet, enjoyed the not-so-silence air that filled with loud noise from each of his friends. The breeze brushed pass Tezuka's face and caused his hair sway a little.

That's when the boy beside him turned to him and smiled.

"You want some helps?" Fuji asked out of the blue and made Tezuka frown at a sudden question.

"For what?"

"The dialogue."

Tezuka looked down at the script he'd been memorizing since Momoshiro started shouting and was wracked in the head by paper fan with Otsuki holding it, he then shook his head.

"No."

"Why?"

"You also have yours to memorize." Tezuka pointed out. "I'm fine, I can help myself."

"But it would work better if we do it together." Fuji stubbornly resisted. "Besides, I already memorized half of it so it'll be fine, my role isn't that hard after all." he inclined his head to one side and smiled brightly at him. "And what's that matter if the devil queen wants to help the king with his role. You know Tezuka, you were like a stiff log when you performed while ago."

Tezuka glared at the comment Fuji had given him but sighed, he knew that he was not so good at acting unlike the boy beside him at all.

"Do what you want." He gave in.

"Is it a YES?"

"…"

Fuji smiled, "Leave it to me." The brunet then pulled Tezuka by grapping the taller boy's wrist to the farther court away from the others and gently released it from his hold.

They were standing face to face. Fuji read the script while nodding to himself like trying to truly understand the feeling of the queen. His lips quirked up as he looked up and found Tezuka's gaze landing on him.

"I will start from the first line, OK? That line you and Oishi had done before."

Tezuka nodded. And they started.

"_My dear king_" Tezuka felt his heart skipped a beat at the utmost sweet voice coming out from the pinkish lips of the other boy. "_It has been a long time since we got married. It is about a time to have our own child now, don't you think?_"

The electrifying blue eyes looked at him with pure love for one could show for someone he loved so much. Tezuka's lips dried.

"_M..my love_" Tezuka paused. _Did his voice just shaking?_ "_I could not say anything but yes to you, you do know that I was—and still am—falling hard for you that I can't utter any word that would make you regret, can I?_"

And for some reasons, Tezuka eyes softened and felt his emotions were being drawn out by the fascinating cerulean orbs. His arms automatically wrapped around the brunet's torso moving their bodies closer to each other, much for Fuji's surprise. And if Fuji wondered what just happened to the stoic captain, he didn't voice it out.

The smaller boy slowly touched Tezuka's arm with eyes still opened and looked into the amber ones, he said the next line of dialogue smoothly, "_I…did you really mean it?_"

Tezuka felt himself leaned closer to his _Queen _in his arms, unconsciously smelled the apple sense from Fuji's long brown locks and raised his hand to brush the other boy's cheek.

Fuji froze at the touch he just received. Tezuka, despite his blur mind he continued the conversation.

"_Ahh._" Tezuka instinctively tilted the brunet chin up "_Let's have our own child and we can live happily ever after._"

Their lips almost met when the sudden noise interrupted them.

The taller man's eyes searched for the source of the noise to see Otsuki who was completely out of character by now, chased after Kikumaru and Momoshiro with a loud cry accompanying them.

"Wahhhhh! She's so scary!" Momoshiro wailed while running as fast as his legs could handle. His ideal thought of this cute girl cracked into pieced since she hit him on the head. "I don't want to do that! Not at all!"

"Come here you brats!" the only girl shouted dangerously, her eyes flashed. "Let me teach you how to act in the play properly!"

"Like hell we would!" Kikumaru retourted. His eyes were full of fear _Is it only me who think that she is way scarier than Oishi when he enters the Oishi territory!_ "Fujiko! Where are youuuuuu!"

Tezuka's eyes went blank with the chaos in front of him. He startled when someone in his arm pried himself off carefully. He realized just then that he was still holding Fuji and their distance was _dangerous…_

When Fuji successfully got himself off the taller man, he looked up and smiled casually at Tezuka.

And that made the dark brown haired boy felt uncomfortable.

"We should go back to them." Fuji spoke up not looking at Tezuka.

Tezuka frowned but not voiced anything out. He just nodded and they both went back to where the rest of them were.

"FUJIKOOOOO!" Kikumaru jumped at his friend, hugged him tightly like a child just found his lost mother. "She's scary! She's a MONSTER!"

"What happened?" Fuji asked curiously. He looked at the girl whose hand put on her hip and the other held an infamous paper fan on her shoulder, fuming. "Is anything wrong?"

"Oh yeah, VERY wrong." Her icy tone sent chill down their spines despite the killing look on her face. "These guys do not have any respect in their roles at all!"

"But…" Momoshiro tried to protest with his shaking voice. "It just a play…"

"TRY SAYING THAT AGAIN!?"

"Momo, shut up won't you?" Inui pinched the bridge of his nose. "You make it worse."

"What did I do!?"

Echizen heaved an annoying sigh. "Just shut up, Momo-senpai."

"Haruka" Otsuki averted her gaze to Fuji who was glomped by Kikumaru. "Aren't you overdoing it?"

The girl huffed. "No, I'm not. They are the ones who look down on the play."

"They are amateurs" Fuji explained calmly with Kikumaru nodded vigorously behind him. "They didn't mean it."

Stared at the smiling friend of hers, she then sighed and back to her old cheerful self, to the boys' relief. "Fine, but…" she paused and grinned.

"For one condition and I will pretend that everything didn't happen."

"She said it as if she was right. She's the one who initiated the mess…" Momoshiro mumbled.

Kaidoh glared darkly at his rival. "Shut up peach head."

"What did ya say!?"

"Oi, stop it." Oishi sweatdropped.

Fuji eyed her perplexedly. "What condition?"

Haruka's eyes sparkled dangerously. She smiled from ear to ear. Clapping her hands together, she said slowly but clearly,

"You have to do whatever I say for one day Syu-su-ke-kun."

And everybody went silence

…..

….

…..

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the boys shouted simultaneously. Tezuka's eyes widened but not saying any word.

"Well…?" Haruka smiled sweetly eyeing her classmate with triumphant look on her beautiful face.

Fuji thought for a while before shrugging his shoulders.

"Fine, I'll do it." He said coolly.

"EHH? For real, Fuji-senpai!?" Momoshiro cried out. "You don't have to do whatever that _witch _wants, you know…" he lowered his voice down into a whisper.

Fuji just smiled at him. "It's OK. It doesn't look like it will be something difficult, does it?"

Kikumaru bit on his handkerchief. "You're so manly! Fujiko!"

"Not bad Fuji-senpai." Echizen tugged the brim of his cap down.

Tezuka kept silent and stared at Otsuki who seemed pleased. The girl smiled brightly at Fuji.

"I'll wait." She said. "Don't forget our 'next' meeting ne, Syusuke." And with that last word, she left the court.

Momoshiro looked at her retrieved back with ultimate horror on his eyes. "Well, that teaches me don't judge the book by its cover."

Oishi looked at his friend with worry, "You're OK, Fuji?"

"Why am I not OK?"

"You know…" Kikumaru trailed off, "She's kind of scary…"

"It's only because you don't take it seriously." Inui's glasses flashed. "But I have to agree with Eiji. She's scary."

"Does every girl be like this?" Echizen murmured.

Fuji just kept his smile on his face, not aware of someone's gaze that piercing him like a ray of light penetrated through the window.

Tezuka's mind was clouded with many questions that he couldn't answer, not even _one. _He frowned _and what with that 'next meeting'? Does it mean Fuji has to meet with her again? _Tezuka eyes darkened. Just one request of her earlier already annoyed him to death but what made him more annoying was his own feelings that had been troubling him since yesterday and he, still, couldn't find the right answer yet. It seemed like the more he stepped closer to the light, the more the dark clouds hindered him from reaching that light. It kept circling in his head that caused him headache and his hand went on his pained spot, supporting his almost exploded head.

Tezuka felt a soft touch on his shoulder, Fuji looked at him with worry shown in those ocean-like color orbs and it made half of his pain disappear immediately.

"Tezuka…" the mellow voice called out his name, "Are you all right? You look pale, as I thought you have been sick since yesterday, haven't you?"

And with that Tezuka's another half was completely flooded out. Like a wave came rushing to the shore and pulled itself back to where it had been. Left the soft touch blushed against the sand's skin lingering with warmth and wistfulness.

At that time, Tezuka seemed to realize something. He blinked. _Something he'd been searching for since yesterday._

"Tezuka." Fuji called out again. "Hey, want me to take you to infirmary?"

"Sorry." Tezuka muttered softly ignoring the confusion he was sent from the lithe boy in front of him. "I just remember I have something to take care. Can I go now?"

Oishi eyed him curiously. Inui nodded. "Yes. But you have to memorize all those lines of yours…"

Tezuka didn't wait for Inui's answer. He sprinted his feet toward the fence door and vanished out of their eyes' sight.

"What happened to Buchou?" Echizen lifted his brow up. "He's been like that since yesterday."

Kikumaru shrugged putting both of his hands behind his head. "Who knows? He said he had something to handle, so he might be just worried about that."

Inui's glasses glinted and opened his notebook.

Fuji was so deep in thought. He'd never seen Tezuka like that before. It made him worried.

"I'll take my leave too." The brunet said and ran out of the court. "See you tomorrow!"

"Ah, hey! Seriously those guys…" Oishi sighed. "Keep things all to themselves like that…"

"First Fuji-senpai, now buchou and Fuji-senpai again? They surely have something behind us." Momoshiro guessed.

"Shuuuush." Kaidoh crossed his arms, deeply in thought.

The sound of notebook being shut got their attention. Inui stood upright. His glassed flashed.

"So that's how it is…" he murmured to himself. "Now I know why they've been acting so strangely these times."

"What do you mean by that Inui-senpai?" Kaidoh asked with everyone nodded in the background.

Inui looked at the other regulars whose faces were full of question signs. He grinned.

"With Fuji's strange act since Nationals ended and Tezuka is out of character whenever Otsuki-san is around." The data player said. "It's only one solution to this question."

And Inui smiled.


	4. Chapter 3

Here ch 3 :D

next chapter will be out soon... I guess

Enjoy!

A/N : Pot isn't mine.

bad grammar and a lot of errors

Feel free to leave comments, I'll be waiting for it :)

And until next time :D

* * *

**Chapter 3**

3 days left before the festival

The confusion and the guarantee

Hinaya Makoto, the vice president of Seishun junior high school was walking freely toward the corridor leading him to the student council room. He hummed happily and, if even possible, skipped along his path never mind the looks other students gave him. He didn't care anyway. Because 1. He _is _the vice president who was just lucky and got picked because of his handsome appearance and the never-ending good attitude of his making him to be the number 2 of this school and 2. Was that the annual festival, the ceremony of waltz and joy for the whole school to not have the study that day, was the utmost delight he's had since he entered this school.

He turned left and found the door of the room slightly opened. Hinaya quirked his eyebrow up but shrugged it off since he already knew who would be so engrossed in his duty even it was a lunch time like this, and if one asked why the perfect boy like him was here in the first place, he was just finding a peaceful place to eat his bento—other areas in the school had been occupied already—thus, he had no choice but slid himself in the room.

And his guess was corrected. Sitting on the farthest table was the president of the student council, Tezuka Kunimitsu, who seemed _too _absorbed in his work and it only made Hinaya contort his brows even more.

_What happened to him? _The boy mused. _I know he is a workaholic freak but…_As fast as the thought ran pass his mind, he walked directly at the said person and sat across him.

Tezuka still didn't notice him. Hinaya frowned. He waited for about good 5 minutes and nothing changed. _OK. _He concluded._ Something really happened to him._

"Oi, Tezuka" he called out.

…nothing happened….

"Tezuka…"

…nothing happened…

"…Tezuka"

…and nothing happened, Tezuka was so attracted on the exactly same paperwork from the 5 minutes earlier.

And Hinaya snapped.

"Oi, Tezuka! Notice me already!" the vice president slammed his hands on table hard enough to make his bento jump in the air.

Tezuka paused his eyes from the paper and blinked at the boy in front of him.

"Hinaya?" Tezuka looked at the fuming face of his friend with surprise, frowned. "Why are you here? Is there something you want?"

"You should ask that 5 minutes ago!" Hinaya shouted sitting back on his chair. "Geez, I've been calling you but you didn't even bat an eye from those damn papers to answer me!"

Tezuka deepened his frown. "Hinaya, watch your words…"

"Save it." Hinaya raised his hand up in front of Tezuka's face. His face was full of annoyance. "Tell me now."

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me what has happened to you."

"Nothing has happened to me."

Hinaya's brow twitched. Thanks to his Tezuka-intense-talk immune he had been developing since he had been selected as a vice president to endure the stoic president, if not for that, he would have torn the boy in front of him into two by now.

"If nothing happened, why did you zone out like that?" he cornered.

Tezuka glared at him and if ones thought he was fear of that, they were corrected; but the boy with pride like Hinaya wouldn't even voice it out. NEVER.

"Don't use those glares of yours, they won't work on me." He smirked. "Now tell me, what is—or are—bothering you right now?"

If Tezuka hadn't known Hinaya better, he would have thought this guy was prying on him. But became friends and work together for years, aside from Oishi and Fuji, Hinaya was the one who understood him the best.

At the thought of a curtain tensai crossed his mind, his body stiffed and his heart ran wild. His eyes transfixed altogether he just found his answer to his never-ending questions that kept flooding on his mind yesterday and, for the first time in his life, he, Tezuka Kunimitsu, didn't know what to do with his feelings.

And those foreign actions weren't overlooked by his friend at all.

Hinaya rested his chin on his palm observing his friend, sighed. "So something has happened after all…"

"Nothing happened to me, really." Tezuka straightened himself from his seat. Look solemnly serious. "I just only let my guard down, nothing is serious…"

"That is it! What makes you let your guard down like that? Something must be happened that cause you to get careless, am I right? Am I not?" Hinaya cut him off. His dark eyes sparkled with curiosity.

But what answered him back was the silence and some dark aura emerged from background, he didn't care at all. The most important thing for him right at that moment was to make this stoic friend of his answer him square, he just happened to be a guy who was so worried about his friend so much. What's wrong with it?

Still, Tezuka was keeping quiet all the time. Hinaya tried to read the other's mind but to no avail. He sighed. _It's harder than I thought it could be… _He leaned his back against the chair, his lips curved up _So, I just lead him to answer…piece of cake!_

Hinaya eyed Tezuka calculatedly, forgot about his bento completely. "Is it about your schoolwork?" he almost bit his tongue at that. Why did he ask such a lame question, it's impossible for someone like Tezuka to have a hard time with those _things_.

"No." Tezuka answered. His eyes focused on his paper again.

"Your parents?"

"No."

"Your grandfather? Oh, how is he, by the way."

"No and he's fine."

"Your left arm?"

"No."

Hinaya clicked his tongue. After gaining 4 consecutive no's from his heavy-mouthed friend, he sighed dryly, "Just tell me and I'll stop asking you…" he leaned his face on the table in defeat. "It's not like you are falling in love with someone right now. Are you?"

Hinaya waited for another 'no' but this time, it didn't come. His eyes flew open. His head jerked up in time to see the ever emotionless face of his friend was as red as an apple.

Hinaya's jaw dropped to the floor.

_Bingo…._

"Wow…"

"What?" Tezuka snapped. His face still flushed.

"No..it's just…" Hinaya blinked. "Wow…."

"If you don't stop it, I will be leaving now."

"Hey, hold on a sec!" Hinaya grabbed his friend's sleeve. "Sorry, I was just…taken aback."

Tezuka frowned. "What's with that?"

"To think that…you are having a love problem…" he answered truthfully, hand still grabbed firmly at his friend's sleeve. "It's something I've never expected."

Tezuka's face darkened.

"You didn't help me at all." Tezuka sighed, seated himself again.

Hinaya stared at the president in disbelief and that gained Tezuka a low grunt.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry." He chuckled, released his hold on Tezuka's shirt. "So…?"

"So what?"

Hinaya's face went plain. "Tezuka, stop answering me with questions! I can't help you if you don't tell me in details!"

Tezuka breathed heavily, _Why did he be in this situation again? _"…What do you want to know...?"

Hinaya's eyes were full of stars sparkling dangerously, Tezuka sweatdropped.

"When did you realize you fall for her?"

Tezuka blinked. Not bother about 'her' at all. "…I don't know, maybe yesterday."

It's time for Hiyana to blink. "Yesterday? Why is it so suddenly?"

"I just rethought about my feelings and it came to the result that maybe I am falling in love."

Hinaya squealed inside. _Wait for those girls to hear their Tezuka-sama's heart has finally been stolen by some mystery girl… _he coughed. "Well, I'm glad you finally get yourself a girlfriend."

"I've none."

Hinaya halted and his eye gawked. "WHAT?"

Tezuka raised his brow up, confused. "I don't have any girlfriend." _Or boyfriend. _He added inwardly.

"Why don't you confess to her!?"

Tezuka looked dim and Hinaya thought he was pressing the wrong button. He forgot that Tezuka was so _old-fashioned_ never mind the fact that other living things around the world got themselves lovers as fast as they blinked, the boy in front of him was the upside down story.

"I'm confused…" came the boy's answer.

Hinaya had to lean his body across the table to hear that word again. "Huh? I can't hear you. Say again."

It took time for the next answer to penetrate through the sealed lips before the soft voice finally reached his ears and that made his jaw drop for an umpteenth time.

"I'm confused…about my feelings."

"…What makes you think like that?"

Tezuka looked uneasy, "I had thought about that person as my one of the best friends until yesterday, no, these unknown feelings kept rushing inside me since the day before, I thought I love that person but another half said I was just let the emotions took over my consciousness." He finished with an uncertain sigh.

_Oh my… _Hinaya stared at his red faced president in horror. _Where is that scary face going? Where is an intense atmosphere around his president gone? Where are those passive emotions? Who STEAL THE REAL TEZUKA! _

"Ah…in that case" Hinaya looked at his friend uncertainly. "You just have to make sure you are really 'falling' in love with her."

"How?"

"Well, you know like…uh…when you are near her or see her face, your heart'll be filled with happiness."

Tezuka paused and nodded.

"And when you see her smile, you'll smile too."

The taller boy thought of the smiling tensai and then he smiled a little.

_This is bad…_ Hinaya mused. _Whoever makes the stoic and could-be-able-to-walk log smile like that…scary…_

"And when you see her with someone else, you'll feel like your eyes burned and your heart raged with jealousy."

The picture of that girl with Fuji reflected on his heart and suddenly he remembered about that 'next meeting' thing they were talking about. His mind heated up and as fast as he thought of it, he shot up of his chair and headed to the door. Don't mind the shout of his friend calling him.

"Hey! Wait up" Hinaya cried out but didn't follow. He knew far enough whenever he could play around Tezuka or keep his mouth shut. He then smiled to himself.

"Whoever you are going to meet must be a really important person, ne?"

He didn't expect any answered from Tezuka, seeing him was in a hurry like that. But today it looked like God kept giving him surprises non-stop since he had stepped inside this room. Tezuka answered him.

"Ahh." He replied quickly before leaving the room. "And it's not _'she'_, it's '_he_'."

With the last bomb landing straight on his head, Hinaya's eyes gawked. His mouth opened widely and his brain stopped working.

"Eh?" Hinaya found his voice came out before his shout echoed through the room. "EHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Fuji sighed many times since the morning and it made Kikumaru worried.

The redhead had tried his best to cheer his best friend up but the results were the same; Fuji was still wearing those smiles but Kikumaru knew better, they were all by forces.

_What made Fuji be like this? _He thought to himself and remembered the scene yesterday when Fuji chased after Tezuka out of the court and the _thing _that Inui had told them yesterday was still clinging on his mind.

_Maybe I should just ask him. _Kikumaru nodded to himself. _If he answers me, that's it._

"Fujiko." Kikumaru wrapped his arms around his best friend's shoulders from behind and leaned his face on one of those lean shoulders.

Fuji inclined his head to one side, smiled. "Hmn?"

The acrobatic player frowned. He didn't like what he was seeing on Fuji's feminine face at all.

He then opened his mouth. "About Tezuka…"

And his question was cut off dramatically with the sound of the door slid open hard that the students in the room could hear the creak sound from the door being pushed.

The girl with her arrogant aura came oozing out of her slender body attracted many eyes of guys around the room contrast with the annoyed look the girls giving her.

The girl named Kitakawa Mayumi stood rooted at the door. Her both hands placed on her curved waist and her moistened lips parted open, sending the high pitch noise rang through the air.

"Fuji Syusuke, come here now." Her arrogant voice rose to the ceiling and hung at that level.

Kikumaru whose hands pressed tightly on his ears peered at his friend.

"Fuji, you know her?"

Fuji nodded and rose from his seat to where that high-pitch girl was.

"Kitakawa-san." Fuji greeted with his usual smile.

Kitakawa looked at Fuji from head to toe and from toe to head. She clicked her tongue, annoyed.

"Why she chose you at the first place…" the curled, haired girl grumbled under her breath before pulled the boy in front of him by the hand. "Whatever, come with me, quick."

"Eh? Where are you planning to take Fuji..!?"

Before Kikumaru could finish his sentence, the door was slammed shut with loud 'bang'. The redhead pouted.

"She's really rude! And that Otsuki too! What happens to these girls nowadays…"

Kikumaru instinctively jumped back from his place where he had been near the door that, the second time of that day, was being pulled open but with ease this time. He quirked his brow up when he saw the captain of tennis club standing at the opposite side of the door, panting.

He blinked. "Buchou? What are you doing here?"

Tezuka breathed in, and then straightened himself up. His eyes wandered around the room, ignored the shrieks from the girls and the piercing looks from other boys. He frowned when he couldn't find the brown haired tensai.

"Kikumaru."

"Hoi?"

Tezuka's eyes narrowed. "Where's Fuji?"

Kikumaru blinked again, "Eh? Why? Do you want something from him?"

Tezuka shook his head. "No…I just want to check on something…"

The redhead looked more curious and before he could say something, the sound of someone calling their names caught their attentions completely.

Kawamura Takashi stood there with a handful of card boxes in his arms.

"Wow Taka-san, what are those?" the redhead, with sparkling eyes, bounced to the powerful player who replied with soft voice.

"Ah, these are for my classroom." He said. "I was just about to go straight to my classroom when I heard your voices."

Kikumaru eyed him in disbelief, "For one person to carry all those heavy boxes…as expected of our powerful player, nya!"

"Kawamura." The said person looked up and saw Tezuka stared back at him.

"By any chance… have you seen Fuji while you came here?"

Kawamura thought for a second before he nodded.

"Uh, it looks like he's heading to somewhere in the right wing with the girl pulling him…"

Not wait for any word, Tezuka launched toward the opposite direction and disappeared around the corner.

"And that's Tezuka for you." The redhead pouted. "He didn't even care to close the door!"

* * *

"Huh? Isn't that buchou?"

Echizen looked to where the spiky haired player pointed at and saw the figure rushing toward their way.

"It looks like him." He replied turned to face his captain. "Bu…"

And the captain of the infamous tennis club didn't even bat an eye on them since he was concentrating on launching like a rocket flew past them.

"chou…" Echizen blinked looking after the path his captain just vanished from their eyes' sight with swirling dust floating in the air like in an old cowboy movie.

Momoshiro scratched his cheek. "He seems to be in a hurry." He shrugged and turned to the smaller boy. "Hey, Echizen, do you want to go grab something more?"

"Sure."

* * *

Kaidoh was walking in the corridor alone when he saw his genius senpai being pulled by the beauty once they unnoticeably walked past him.

Kaidoh raised his brow, "Fuji-senpai?" and looked at the other girl with her slender figure and then he blushed.

The bandana boy heaved a sigh when they were nowhere in sight and was about to continue his walk when another familiar figure hovered past him with an unbelievable speed.

"….Buchou?"

* * *

The two senior regulars of tennis club could be seen by one of the opened window. Oishi looked out of the window while the other leaned his back against the wall nearby, notebook in hand.

The former boy spoke up, "Inui, about what you said yesterday…" Oishi bit his lower lip. "Are you sure about that?"

"It's 89% that it is true, according to my data."

"But if your data's wrong…"

Inui's glasses flashed. "Data's never wrong."

"I know. We've been saved by your data many times in tennis." Oishi smiled at him. "But this and tennis are way different. Both Fuji and Tezuka…"

The taller boy pushed his glasses up his nose. "Maybe you're right but let me say something." Oishi looked up at him from his position. "'This 'thing' we're talking about is something that is like _tennis _too; both Fuji and Tezuka, none of them initiates the serve and just wait there at the serve line, but then there's Otsuki-san who happened to be Fuji's closed friend and looks so close together jumps into the court like a wind blows out their start sign and that makes our captain seem to know something about his true feeling about the other on the other side of the court still, he doesn't look like he is sure about those feelings _much _to push him make the first serve."

Oishi stared dumbfoundedly at his friend.

He blinked several times and smiled sheepishly. "…I don't quite understand that though."

"We just need more pushes. That's all."

Oishi gave him another weak smile. "Where can we find it? It doesn't look like it will show up in front of our faces right now, right?"

With last word came out from the vice captain's mouth, they saw the first object of their talk walked pass with the girl pulling his hand tightly by them. They blinked and followed those two turning around the corner and disappeared from their view.

Oishi spoke up when he was out of his stupor. "Isn't that Fuji? And who's with him?"

"Hmn, another push has shown up now it's time to make Tezuka see that girl with Fuji." Inui frowned. "Where's my camera when I need it?"

Then another object of their conversation ran with wind flew past them that made their locks sway. Oishi's sweat slid down his face.

"Heh.., isn't that Tezuka?"

Inui shut his notebook.

"It seems we don't need camera after all."

* * *

Tezuka was exhausted.

Who wasn't? When one just ran all of his or her might with high speed like that?

But if he felt like he was about to lie down and sleep at that very spot, he continued his walk with steadier paces and had to put his hand on the wall for the fear that he might tremble then and there. Tezuka could sense his back damped and beads of sweat kept rolling down all over his face. He inhaled deeply before stood upright and walked again.

Now he was in the right wing building in which almost of the club rooms were in. He looked down at his watch and it seemed that it had just 20 minutes left before the lunch break would be over. He kept walking but faster. He would _never _let any girl or _anyone _near Fuji anymore with his now assured feelings.

Yes, his feelings were _confirmed_. Just right after he reached his home and locked himself in his room. With light turned off, his brain could work better but deep down in his mind, he doubted that in this unsure situation of his heart, the brain could work at all. Thus, he let himself sink in the soft touch of his bed and closed his eyes. Only this time he would let his heart took control over his brain and let it be.

As soon as his eyes shut, the image of the blue eyed boy smiling at him appeared in his thought and not, even once, faded away. It kept playing all the chapters they shared together since they were freshmen, the first time they met, the first time they had their secret match, the first time he saw Fuji angry, the first time he noticed how beautiful Fuji's eyes were, the first time when they were classmates, the first time when they shared an umbrella together, the first time when he saw the tensai get serious, the first time when he promised Fuji to have a rematch right after he came back from Germany which they had fulfilled it already, the first time when Fuji played desperately for the sake of victory for the team and the first time Fuji beautifully shined with his bottomless ability in tennis and took the first score for Seigaku.

The mere thoughts brought smile creep on Tezuka's face. He knew Fuji for _too _long. He and Fuji had so many first times together.

Until the thought of him who almost kissed those soft lips of his friend rang in his mind. _For the first time._

And that only caused Tezuka's heart ran faster.

For once, Tezuka Kunimitsu, the captain and the president of the student council, almost died right in the bed because of heart attack.

He had to admitted, he _wanted _to kiss those lips very much. He wondered if that was also the time he realized how he felt for Fuji.

_Yes. _His mind whispered to him.

He loved Fuji. _And not in the friendly way. _He knew that already.

Or maybe he knew it all along but pushed it deep in the furthest corner of his heart and ignored it for that they would still be friend and nothing would have changed.

Since when he wanted to cross that line, he wasn't sure and what if these feelings just happened only because of his own whim? He knew its end would never be good.

So that's why he was uncertain about his feelings until just now, when he was consulting with his vice president and every question he was asked, it just went through and stuck hard at his heart. And now his feelings were confirmed.

He was just about to turn at the next corner when he heard the familiar voice came out behind the door on his left sight. With a big bold 'Drama club' on the door, he stood rooted, his hand on a door knob.

He nearly turned it when the door was yanked open and the blue eyes set on him with shock and surprise.

Like the time had stopped and there were only the two of them. Tezuka's heart was beating fast but his mind was surprisingly calm. He didn't need any explanation or any word anymore when those cerulean orbs were set on his.

_I love him _Tezuka closed his eyes and opened them again with determination.

_And I won't lose him to anyone._

* * *

_TBC. _

_Next chapter: Break and Stage_


	5. Chapter 4 : Break and Stage

Chapter 4

3 days left before the festival day

Break and stage

Fuji found himself blinking at the sight of the panting captain.

For Tezuka, who always spent his time during a break in the student council room or in his own classroom to do his work, to be right in front of his eyes and be so out of breathwas something Fuji was never expected of.

So he blinked again.

"Tezuka…is everything OK?"

Tezuka didn't even care to answer the smaller boy's question. He inhaled his final breath before his solemn eyes looked into the blue ones and despite how calm his composure was, inside him was frantically twirling like a house was suck by the storm. The tiny beat of sweat slid down his face as he finally made his decision.

_To tell he is so desperately in love with the boy in front of him._

"Fuji…" Tezuka's lips went dry when the lithe boy tilted his head to one side and shot him a look that Tezuka felt like a bomb just landed in the middle of his head. "I…"

But in a second, what the bespectacled young man wanted to say was cut off by the one and only Tezuka's now considered rival—_Otsuki Haruka._

"Why are you standing there, Syusuke?"

Otsuki asked surprisingly as she stepped out of the room. "I thought you would go back to your classroom already considering the break was almost over." Her eyes went round and smiled brightly when she saw another figure standing with Fuji.

"Tezuka-san! What makes you here?"

"I have something to tell Fuji." Tezuka said curtly that made the only girl's smile falter. "Would you excuse us?"

Fuji stared at his captain and at Otsuki who seemed like she was frozen by the cold voice Tezuka has just used. The smaller boy frowned. He had no record the boy beside him has ever used that icy tone of his to anyone and mostly—to the girls—before.

Seeing the situation was about to break, Fuji managed a small smile. His hand was already grabbing the other boy who was still staring hard at Otsuki by the arm. Smiling, he went "We'll go now. See you later Haruka."

Not wait for the answer, Fuji dragged the taller boy to the other wing of the building and when they finally made their way to the empty corridor, Fuji released his hold on Tezuka's arm and before the other boy could say something, Fuji's electrified blue eyes stopped him from doing so.

"What's with you lately?" Fuji tried hard not to look so frustrated. He failed desperately when he found his voice raised one or two level higher than his usual mild voice. The boy frowned slightly, looking and searching at those amber ones. "It's not like you to talk to her like that."

"I'm sorry." was the short reply.

Fuji sighed. He just had to apologize to Haruka later. "It's…all right. By the way, what was that you want to tell me?"

Tezuka inhaled inwardly

"I…" Tezuka parted his lips but no words came out.

Fuji raised his brow up.

He tried again. "I was just about to tell you that…"

"Tell me what?"

And like the god above just toyed with him at that exact moment when he finally gathered his courage that had been simultaneously hiding in every blind corner in his body, the bespectacled boy grunted under his breath as he saw the three uninviting guesses allowing themselves showing up in the scene.

Kikumaru was waving his hand vigorously with Oishi and Inui followed suit.

"Found you Fujiko!" the acrobatic player jumped and glomped his best friend on the back. He grinned and looked at the captain, unaware of the look Tezuka sent directly to him. "You here too buchou."

"It's obviously they're here together" the data player said as his eyes still glued on his notebook. "It's 98% chance after all."

Oishi just smiled. He looked worried when he saw the expression on Tezuka's dark face. "Tezuka are you OK? You looked unwell."

"I'm fine."

"What were you two doing any way?" Kikumaru asked curiously. "You seemed to be talking on something serious."

"Well, I wonder about that too." Fuji diverted his gaze to Tezuka. "What was that you wanted to tell me again?"

With all eyes turned to him, Tezuka felt himself standing in the middle of spotlight. He looked at the genius then his friends and had to sigh inwardly. His vigor was out and his mood was ruined. The bespectacled boy wanted to cry out loud but had to restrain himself from doing that. It wouldn't be a sightly scene to all the students included the teachers—for seeing their respectful president and the student model to be crying like a baby—he still had a face to keep too.

Final thought and Tezuka Kunimitsu decided to raise a white flag.

"It's…not that important." The bespectacled boy said dryly. "It can wait."

Fuji blinked. "If you say so…" blue eyes then turned toward his other friends. "And what makes you all here?"

"Searching for you of course." Kikumaru said "Hanami-sensei said there's no class in the afternoon so we decided to use this time practicing our play for the last shot."

Oishi gave an easy smile to Tezuka. "I was looking for you when I saw Eiji burst out Fuji's name."

"And I also have to talk about a few things with Fuji about the script before we start rehearsing so I ended up tagging along with them." Inui went "There's highly chance that you both will be stuck together after all."

Fuji smiled. "Well then let's go, shall we?"

Everyone nodded in unison and walked toward the direction that reaching their way to the hall. Unknown to Tezuka, blue eyes were silently on his back all the time.

Fuji stared at the strong back of his captain and his eyebrows knitted. He didn't believe one bit that '_something'_ Tezuka wanted to tell him was _something_ unimportant. Not when the face that always shows no emotions except seriousness and certainty was full of _something _the genius both wanted and—at the same time—unwanted to know.

For The stoic young man like Tezuka seemed to make his mind on _something _that make his eyes fill with determination and blazes.

It must be _that _important. Fuji mused inwardly as Tezuka pushed the door of the hall ajar. His eyes never once left Tezuka.

Ocean-like blue wavered and lips pursed forming a thin line, Fuji's heart swayed.

_What is that Tezuka wants to tell me…_

Blue eyes closed.

_I just have to wait right?_

* * *

"_So that angelic voice belongs to you…_" _Momoshiro took Kaidoh's hands as he knelt down beside the bandana boy. "It's beautiful."_

_Kaidoh chuckled. His smile was as bright as the ray of light. "Thank you."_

Kikumaru put his fist in his mouth. He had been trying hard not to laugh at the oh-so-in-character two on the stage. The redheaded almost bit his tongue when Momoshiro kissed the back of Kaidoh's hand and very good eyesight he had, kikumaru felt like he was on the edge to cry out laughter as he saw the hair on the back of the bandana boy's neck stood all at once.

Fuji looked at his kouhais. His eyes glinted amusedly.

"So that is the result of secret practice, eh?"

Inui's glasses flashed. "Yeah, it surprises me how they can do it in such a short time."

"Aren't you the one who help them?"

"I'm just a monitor." The data player closed his notebook as he held out a jug containing greenish liquid floating dangerously and its foam almost came out of the rim of the jug.

"With the help of Midorizu, my new experimental Inui's juice, that is."

Oishi, who was on the other side of the boy, smiled weakly as Echizen coughed and Kawamura's face went pale.

"You want to try it, Fuji?"

The said boy gave an easy smile and shook his head. "I'd love too, but I'm not feeling like want to stuff anything in my stomach right now."

Inui looked disappointed. "Hmn, it can't be helped then."

Tezuka was two steps away from his friends looking like he wanted to sigh a million time. The bespectacled crossed his arms around his chest as he leaned his back on the wall behind him. He closed his eyes.

He steadily breathed. His eyebrow contorted.

That when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

And Tezuka couldn't expect more than the vice president to be so excited at the sight of the huge stage in front of him.

"Uwah, they're doing great, aren't they?"

"Hinaya" Tezuka quirked his brow up in an annoyance "what are you doing here?"

"Akira sent me to look after the hall." The black haired boy's eyes wandered around the hall. Many students who were put in staff duty were busily setting chairs in lines and decorating the stage. "In case they need something or accidents occur. It would be bad if teachers find out that one of students got him—or herself injured because of the overwork on the day before festival, don't you think?"

Tezuka tightened his crossed arms. "So it seems."

"Is that your club performing?"

"Hmn."

"What story?"

"Sleeping beauty."

Hinaya looked like he has just been forced to gulp down the still-alive fish. His smile went rigid. "Well…it's kind of interesting…I guess."

"Doesn't your class perform as well?"

"Yes, they're doing Romeo and Juliet." His luck wasn't good either.

"…I think I should say good luck then…"

"Luck can't help much though." Hinaya put his hands behind his head, eyes stuck on the scene before him and laughed quietly. "Your teammates are good at this huh? It seems this year's festival is kinda exciting compare to last year."

"Maybe."

Tezuka and Hinaya pulled their eyes to the direction of the sound of footstep. Standing not far yet not close was the genius—Fuji syusuke smiled his usual smile at both of them.

"Fuji" the captain called. "Is anything you want?"

"Yes. It's you."

Tezuka was _literally _choking as he heard the other boy's answer. His heart was almost throbbing out of his ribcage if not for the next sentence.

"…Inui said you are up next." Fuji raised his brow up. "Are you sick Tezuka? Your face…it's kind of red."

The bespectacled boy put his hand on his face as if to cover its bright color, mumbled "No…I'm coming"

And Hinaya's eyes didn't miss one bit of those unusual expressions. He stared silently at the retreated form of the captain before diverted his gaze to the lithe boy and back to Tezuka again. There's something that pokes Hinaya's inner thought but what is it?

The realization came later, blew the haze out of his mind at once as the conversation in the student council room hit him on his head.

Tezuka is falling in love with someone_._

Though Tezuka didn't say his crush's name but somehow, Hinaya would know by his instinct that the boy in front of him seemed to get involved.

_As ironic as it was, his instinct's always right. _

Hinaya started to observe the boy.

_Small _the vice president trailed his eyes over the blue eyed boy's body. _Smooth skin, fair hair, angelic smile… and that soft voice earlier…_

The vice president seemed to understand something.

Even he isn't interested in men, he has to admit the boy before him is…_attractive_ and _beautiful_ in his own way.

He couldn't blame Tezuka to be in love with this irresistible young man at all.

Fuji felt like someone's eyes were on him. He turned and gave a questioning smile to Hinaya.

"You want something Hinaya-san?"

Hinaya blinked.

"Huh? You know me?"

Fuji amusedly smiled. "Everyone knows you. Aren't you the vice president?"

"Yes, but others like to call me as number2. So I thought they don't really know my name."

A soft chuckle "What with that thought." Fuji beamed "You have some kinds of business here?"

"I'm just an observer." Hinaya shot a same smile to the genius. "And it is a good opportunity to snap some pictures of Tezuka and send them to Ayana-san, isn't it?"

Fuji quirked his brow up "You know Ayana-san? You seem to be close to Tezuka, ne?"

"I just happen to go to Tezuka's house occasionally. Ayana-san always takes good care of me while I'm there and I just want to return her kindness." The boy couldn't grin more. "It's shame I don't have camera with me though."

Fuji gave him a wide smile. It sounds like he and Hinaya can get along well "I have camera with me if you want. I know Ayana-san would love them."

"You seem to know Ayana-san well too." Hinaya laid his bet. "You go to Tezuka's house often?"

The blue eyed boy nodded. "Pretty often I guess. We always do the study session at his house. Ayana-san always brings us some snacks too."

"Are you close to Tezuka?"

Hinaya frantically gave another explanation when the other boy looked at him with curiosity. "I mean, Tezuka doesn't talk much about his life if you don't ask. I just wonder how that emotionless president spends his daily life."

Fuji blinked and smiled a second later. "Well, he's not that passive. He just '_too_' concentrates on what he's doing that he doesn't spend much of his attentions to the other things around him."

It's Hinaya's round to blink. "So you are _really_ close to him eh?"

"You are too." Fuji gave him another brilliant smile of his. "Oishi's too. He's Tezuka's best friend after all."

"But you seem to understand him well." Hinaya pried. "What do you think about Tezuka?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you both are close. He seems to care a lot about you too."

Hinaya stole a glance of the genius and he didn't lie about what he had told Fuji. Tezuka did mention this boy's name 'a lot'—intent or not, Fuji's name always appears in every sentence whenever Hinaya asked about how's the tennis club doing.

Hinaya took in Fuji's surprised look as the blue eyed boy blinked.

"_He does?_"

Hinaya couldn't thank his intuition more. Fuji looked like a little boy who has just known that Santa came visiting his house last night and left the present under the Christmas tree.

_He's cute._

"Yes, he does." Hinaya nodded as if to confirm. "Now I told you that, you have to tell me about what I asked earlier too."

"He's good captain." Fuji answered after some seconds of thinking, "He's reliable and a good friend."

"That's it?"

Fuji eyebrows knitted. "What are you expecting?"

"Uh well…" Hinaya scratched his cheek. His eyes looked at anything but Fuji's skeptical face. "to be flank I just want to—you know—know your feelings toward Tezuka."

That gained a wonder look painted on Fuji's face.

"You…love Tezuka?"

"Hell no!" He instantly said, not even dare to imagine he's in love with that log at all. It's too _creepy._ "Uh I love him but _not in that way._"

"Oh" Fuji gave him a faint smile. "I'm sorry. The way you said it sounds like that to me."

"Anyway," Hinaya opened his mouth. "your…"

But before his words could come out, the data player who was already making his way toward the genius brought all of Fuji's attentions to the tallest boy. And Hinaya's mouth closed.

"Here you are Fuji." Inui said, "Where have you been? Everyone is looking for you."

"Ah, sorry. Is it my turn already?" seeing Inui nodded, he then gave his last smile to the other boy.

"It's good to talk to you, but I have to go. See you later Hinaya-san."

Hinaya sighed audibly as his eyes transfixed on the other boy's lean back. He's _that close _yet he couldn't get what he wanted, for the genius was so good at keeping his mild composure but that's not a problem; he already has half of the information. And even he was still in the shock state his captain preferred boys more than beautiful flowers—he wants to help his president.

It's not often to see the Tezuka, that's we talk about, was like the lost boy standing helplessly at the crossroad and didn't know which the right way to go. And even he chose the right track, there's no confirmation in what he has to confront during that long road. Now that he saw the slightly change on the genius's face; it seemed Tezuka could lessen obstacles by half.

_Another half is how to make the president confess properly and by the way he looks at it, it looks like Tezuka hasn't tell Fuji his feeling yet._

"You look deep in thought."

Hinaya snapped his head up as his eyes found no one but the data player standing quietly by his side.

"Oh, sorry" He apologetically said "I thought you've already gone with Fuji."

"Almost." He shut his notebook. "I just wanted to assure of something before I go back to look after the rehearsal."

"And what is that?"

Inui's glasses flashed.

"You wanna help?"

"Help what?"

"Those two." Inui jerked his head toward his friends' direction. "I know you already figured out their feelings toward each other, didn't you?"

Hinaya's eyes went round. "You know too?"

"Their lone actions are too obvious." Inui simply stated. "It's a wonder why they haven't confessed yet."

"And you want me to help?"

"Yes." Inui's eyes behind his translucent glasses shot him a knowing look. "But I don't force you if you don't want to."

"Please." Hinaya ran his hand through his hair. The answer was clearly showing on his eyes. "I'd love too."

Indeed, this year's festival is way more excited than any years in Hinaya's junior high school life.

* * *

TBC.

* * *

_Next : Let's the festival begin!_


End file.
